1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of processing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material and, more detailedly, to a method thereof, wherein the improvement is made on the prevention of a color stain and particularly the prevention of a color dye stain caused in the course of processing said silver halide photographic light-sensitive material by a color developer and then by a bleach-fix bath.
2. Description of the state of the art
In general, a light-sensitive material for a color printing paper use is exposed to light through a color negative film and is applied in succession to the processing steps mainly comprising a color development by means of a paraphenylenediamine type developing agent, a bleach-fix, and washing, and thus a color print is produced.
The essential requirements for practically making such color prints are that the color reproductivity and the whiteness of the unexposed areas of such color prints, that is the so-called white-background property, should be excellent.
In recent years, a yellow, red or other colored stain is apt to occur particularly on a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material when the light-sensitive material is processed in a color developer and then in a bleach-fix bath. The color stains of this kind will noticeably occur especially when such a substance liquated out from a light-sensitive material, e.g., a silver halide, is accumulated in a color developer and a bleach-fix bath oxidated or fatigued with an aeration is used in a regeneration process for regenerating the liquated substances. Various causes of these color stains may be considered, and inter alia, a color stain which has been popularly known is that caused by a reaction of the oxidation products of a color developing agent in a bleach-fix bath with couplers being contained in a light-sensitive material. Another stain which has also been popularly known is that substances liquated out from a light-sensitive material, components of a bleach-fix bath or the like adhere to the light-sensitive material, or permeate into an edge area, when the bleach-fix bath is concentrated in a running process. Accordingly, there have so far been well-known techniques with the purpose of solving the abovementioned problems, for example, a stain prevention technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection (hereinafter referred to as Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication) No. 102640/1976, in which an alkylamino compound is added to a bleach-fix bath; another stain prevention technique disclosed in Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication No. 71639/1973, in which some kind of magenta couplers to be contained in a light-sensitive material is combined with a hardening agent; a further technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 23179/1976, in which an oxide of some kind of amino compounds is added to a bleach-fix bath; or the like.
Besides the abovementioned color stain prevention techniques, there have also been well known the methods for lessening the deterioration of a white background caused by a color stain, in which the spectral reflectivity of such white background areas are evenly increased by containing a brightening agent in a light-sensitive material, or by adding the same to a processing liquid.
Recently, however, from the viewpoint of an environmental pollution or an economics, color developers and bleach-fix bath tend to be regenerated to use or to be less replenished, and along with the rapid photographic processing has been adopted, such color stains tend to be increased when being processed at a high temperature not lower than 30.degree. C. To cope with these tendencies, the conventional methods have been able to afford to prevent color stains caused with a less replenishment or with a high temperature and rapid processing and particularly stains caused by a reaction product of unreacted couplers in a light-sensitive material with the oxidants of a color developing agent, however such conventional methods have not any effect at all on stains caused by a sensitizing dye, an antiirradiation dye or the like. Accordingly, an effective prevention technique has been anticipated.